The present invention relates to a remote groupware operation which performs conferencing, document forming and the like in an application program operating on personal computers or workstations (hereinafter described generically and simply "PC") located at remote places.
FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram showing a general execution mode for a general purpose application program on a PC for explaining a conventional remote groupware operation system. In FIG. 17, a reference numeral 101 designates an operating system (hereinafter, "OS"), 102, a general purpose application program, 103, a display driver, 106, a frame memory, 107, an event buffer for storing keyboard entry data, mouse information data and the like (hereinafter described summarizingly "event data"), 109, a display converter, 110, an input detector, 112, a display, 113, mouse/keyboard and 201, an input driver.
Next, an explanation will be given of the operation. First, an explanation will be given of an executing method of a generally-available general purpose application program on a PC. The general application program is executed under an OS of a PC. In most generally-available general purpose application programs 102, data are input from the mouse/keyboard switch 113, processing is performed, and the result of the processing is shown on the display.
In FIG. 17, the event data inputted from the mouse/keyboard is detected by the input detector 110 and stored in the event buffer 107. In the meantime, the general purpose application program 102 starts the input driver 201 through the OS 101 in a process waiting for an input from a user. When the input driver is started, the input driver inspects the event buffer, reads an uninformed event from the event buffer if there is an uninformed event and informs it to the general purpose application program 102 through the OS 101.
After processing, the general purpose application program 102 starts the display driver 103 through the OS 101. The started display driver 103 writes the results to a corresponding portion of the frame memory 106 which is shown on the display 112 by the display converter 109.
Next, FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a conventional groupware operation system described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 174436/1990. In FIG. 18, a reference numeral 1201 designates a main body of a PC, 1202, a PC for communication control, 1203, a keyboard, 1204, a keyboard for the PC for communication control, 1205, a memory, 1206, a general purpose application program operating in the main body 1201 of the PC, 1207a through 1207c, serial interfaces, 1208, a CPU and 1209, a communication line.
Next, an explanation will be given of the operation. In FIG. 18, when the general purpose software 1206 is started, the program is introduced into the memory 1205 of the main body 1201 of the PC. At this occasion, a modification is made on a portion of a keyboard entry program in the general purpose software 1206 and a "modified keyboard entry program" 1205b is formed. 1205a designates a main processing portion in the general purpose application program 1206 which is loaded to the memory.
When the keyboard 1203 is pushed, event data are read by the "modified keyboard entry program" 1205b which has been started by the CPU 1208, through the serial interfaces 1207c and 1207b which are sent to the PC for communication control through the serial interface 1207a.
The PC for communication control sends the event data to the communication line 1209 and sends received data wherein data received from the communication line is provided with a data showing the priority, to the "modified keyboard entry program" 1205b through the serial interface 1207a.
The "modified keyboard entry program" 1205b receives both the input from the keyboard 1203 and the input from the PC 1202 for communication control. When the input data from the PC 1202 for communication control is provided with a data showing a higher priority, the input data from the PC 1202 for communication control, is written in a keyboard entry buffer 1205c. In other cases, the input data from the keyboard 1203 is written in the keyboard entry buffer 1205c.
In the conventional remote groupware operation system described as above, a partial modification should be performed on the general purpose software, the PC for communication control is necessary other than the main body of the PC and, therefore, the operation among multipoints is difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problem and to achieve a remote groupware operation among multipoints with a small information transfer quantity and without modifying a general purpose application software.